Coaches take varying views as Elon, N.C. A&T renew football rivalry

A couple of rainy days last month left the Elon football team in search of drier fields and ultimately relocating a training camp practice to Greensboro.

It was there, at Smith Soccer Complex of all places, that coach Jason Swepson received an introduction — in the form of an earful — on Elon’s renewed rivalry with North Carolina A&T.

“All of the workers over there were talking about A&T,” Swepson said. “So that’s when I really got my first trash talk, my first taste of what the A&T game is all about.”

The full course comes Saturday night when the Phoenix (1-1) visits the Aggies (1-0) for the first football game between the non-conference schools since 2006.

After a seven-year hiatus, Elon and N.C. A&T will play each other until 2016 as part of a four-year deal that sends the Aggies to Elon in 2014 and 2015 and the Phoenix returning to Aggie Stadium in 2016.

These programs met every season from 1999-2006 in what became an eight-year run marked with intriguing moments. During that stretch, it was a series that seemed to be enjoyed for the most part on both sides by the fanbases, previous coaching staffs and previous administrations.

The proximity of the schools, separated by 19 miles, provided a cost-effective game against a non-league opponent from the same level, the Football Championship Subdivision, on what was a yearly basis.

Swepson looks at the short bus ride that Elon will take Saturday to N.C. A&T, thinks about the fun smack talk he heard about the Aggies in August at the soccer complex, and sees the rebirth of the series as beneficial, both now and in the future.

“They’ve got a lot of pride and it’s going to be a great rivalry for years to come,” he said. “I think both universities are excited about it. If all things go according to plan, they’re winning and we’re winning year in and year out, hopefully we end up playing 20 times and both sides are happy at the turnout. That’s when you have a good rivalry.”

“Just because it was a good game at one time doesn’t mean it’s the best thing to do at this time,” he said. “When I was growing up, one of the best games in the country year in and year out was Nebraska / Oklahoma. But they don’t even play anymore.”

Broadway was noncommittal and vague when asked if he would prefer for the Aggies to continue playing Elon beyond 2016, when this new four-year pact expires.

“I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll have to see. Hopefully they’ll bring some fans over here and hopefully our guys will play well.

“I think it’ll be a good game. I think it’ll be a good series. We’ve just got to get some things worked out that happened and hopefully we can get to the bottom of it when they get over here (Saturday).”

Either way, what’s undeniable is the recent history that Elon and N.C. A&T have shared. For example:

â–Ş In 2000, Elon was the opponent Â— and the winner, 13-0 Â— in the first night game ever played at Aggie Stadium, dampening N.C. A&TÂ’s celebratory atmosphere that pulsed throughout the afternoon and night.

â–Ş A year later, after ElonÂ’s first home game was canceled due to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, N.C. A&T became the opponent that christened Rhodes Stadium. It wasnÂ’t a grand opening. ElonÂ’s first on-campus football game in more than 50 years ended in a 23-7 loss.

â–Ş The next year at N.C. A&T, Bill Hayes, the charismatic former Aggies coach, had his quarterback mimic taking a knee in the final seconds of a 34-20 victory. Instead of killing the clock, he popped up and launched a deep ball with time running out. Hayes called it Â“a rivalry pass,Â” which, of course, didnÂ’t sit well with Elon.